Cast Iron Owl Hitching Post c. 1937

V.L. Vance made this beautiful study of a cast iron owl hitching post with watercolor and graphite. I love the material qualities that emerge through the artist's hand. You can see the granular textures of the cast iron, sitting on top of a round wooden post. It makes me wonder what Vance was thinking. Were they interested in the interplay between nature and artifice? I think that these kinds of close observational studies have a way of speaking to their time, too. There's something so American about the owl as a decorative symbol - something that goes back to folk art traditions and reminds me a little of the work of someone like Joseph Stella. I'd love to see what Vance made next.